Parting is such sweet sorrow
by Suiri
Summary: Genjo Sanzo is dead. But his spirit refuses to crossover. Not until he puts Goku fragmented mind back together. 39
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Wish I own. But I don't. This fic takes place after the final battle. Warning: grammar mistakes. Spell check and grammar check just can't catch everything. Too bad, ne? Rewrote little bits of it, fixing grammar issues, etc...hopefully, it reads a lot smoother. **

**

* * *

**

**Parting is such sweet sorrow**

* * *

_"Goku, move!"_

_A shove. _

_Darkness._

**

* * *

**

Chapter 1

* * *

The smoke that drifted into the air from his cigarette made Choji Shin almost nostalgic as he stared up at the moon. From his position, lying on his back on top of a restaurant somewhere in China, he had a perfect, unobstructed view of all the stars.

Pity.

In a few hundred years, the place where he was resting will become a huge, chaotic mess of factories and real estates filled with the fumes of cars and traffic. It was best to breath in the fresh, sweet air of the country side while he still can. It had nothing to do with getting away from all the paper work he had waiting. None at all.

Shin snorted.

His shoulders sagged languidly and he offered the distant stars an amused grin, watching as the smoke his from cigarette wisped off into nothing. The smile slipped off his face a moment later when he heard the frantic screams coming from below. Sitting up, Shin watched with an almost disinterested face as three youkai turned rampant on the streets. Women screamed as they ran. Children cried. Men were being torn limb from limb.

Shin took another drag. He heard the 'pop' of some of his colleagues as they arrived. From their respected rooftops they watched the carnage as well. Each pair of eyes were blank. By the time the youkai moved on, thirty dead bodies were left lying in pools of blood.

"Show time," he flicked away the butt of the cigarette and leapt to the ground below. He could feel the presence of the other shinigamis around him as they tried to control the mass of terrified spirits. Shin was already exhausted. Gathering them quickly, they were dispatched to the place of judgment. All but one.

"Yo, Onee-chan," Shin ambled over to a pretty brunette who sat on the cold, hard ground, staring at her dead body with fascination. She looked up.

"Is that me?" She reached out with a trembling hand and touched the cheek of her corpse. "I'm still warm."

Gently, Shin grabbed her elbow and helped her to her feet.

"I'm three months pregnant," she continued. Her face fell. "I never told my husband."

"Nothing you can do about that now, Onee-chan," he gently touched her forehead and sent her on her way. The last look she gave him was filled with so much regret and sorrow that it stayed with him long after the spirit had vanished.

Shin's hand twitched. He could use a smoke about now. Too bad he used up his last pack. He made a mental note to pick up some on the way home.

"That's the last of them?" Pein asked. The dark hair, dark eyed shinigami glanced around, searching. With all the spirits gone, there was no noise left in the village except for the chirping crickets.

"Yeah, all done," Shin threw an arm around Pein's shoulders and wagged an eyebrow. He enjoyed the flush that appeared on the normally stoic face. "Wanna go out for a drink?"

Pein frown slightly."You have another assignment."

Shin groaned as he was handed another dispatched scroll. He grumbled. The afterlife had him working like a pack mule. He gave the scroll a glare, hoping that it would miraculously catch on fire.

No luck.

"Aren't you going to read it?" Pein asked. The Shinigami crossed his arms and gave Shin a disapproving look.

Shin gave a dismissive nod at the nagging. He resisted the urge to tease. Lee Pein, when he was still alive, had been a fame scholar working under a small magistrate during the Tang Dynasty. Apparently, his need for organization and following the rules still carried on through death, something Shin took great pleasure in constantly teasing him about. Knowing the other Shingami wouldn't leave him alone, since Shin did have a habit of ditching missions, he unrolled the scroll and read.

Shin stopped in the middle of his tracks.

"Genjo Sanzo? Didn't I just bring a Sanzo to judgment?"

"That was Koumyou Sanzo and that was years ago," Pein rubbed his temple as if in great pain.

Suddenly, Shin remember. The weird priest with the long hair.

"Ah, him. Nice guy," Shin nodded. "Another Sanzo, huh. They're falling like flies."

"Yes, they're going to be an extinct species pretty soon," Pein glanced up at the dark sky.

The clouds hid the moon and Shin found himself standing in the dark. Even the crickets grew quiet.

"Onward then," Shin finally said. He made a move forward.

"Wait," Pein stopped him. "The boss wants you to take good care of this spirit. Apparently, he use to be a god in heaven."

"Really?" Shin grew interested. He never had a chance to cross a god over before. "Will do."

With a pop, Shin vanished as the moon began to peek around the clouds again. When he reappeared at his destination point, he raised an eyebrow all the rubble and the settling dust.

"You got to be kidding," he deadpan. No wonder he got the job. No other Shinigami in their right mind would accept an assignment that had them scouring around through an unstable, tittering, highly questionable, mess of stones rocks.

Some, Shin eyed warily, that looks as if it was going to come tumbling down at the slightest shift of wind. He couldn't die a second time, sure, but the pain receptors were still there and Shin liked his body the way gods like their pride. Intact.

He grimaced when he stepped in youkai goo. That's when he noticed all the dead bodies, mostly youkai, that was buried beneath the rubbles. Something big. Something nasty happened here. He frowned as he stepped over a stripped arm. Carefully, he began to pick his way through the ruin castle. Shouldering a rock, that was in his path, to the side, Shin glanced around and wondered how the hell was he suppose to find Genjo Sanzo in this mess.

"Sanzo!"

Lucky break.

Following the cries lead him all the way through to what looked to be the main throne room. From an opening, he watched as a young boy tearfully cradled the dead body of a priest. Every second the boy's cry seemed to get louder and more anguished.

"Shut up, Bakasaru!" The spirit of the Genjo Sanzo stood behind the boy, looking annoyed and pissed.

Shin took that as his cue to appear. "He can't hear you, you know."

Genjo looked up and glared. The heated look almost made Shin step back.

"Maa, you could kill someone with that look," he joked. He held up his hands in a mock surrender as he stepped forward.

"Who the fuck are you?" Genjo growled. The growing red tick at the priest's temple meant that he was loosing his temper.

Shin frowned. "Gees, what a mouth! Are you sure you're a Sanzo?" A growl was his answer. "Alright. Alright." Shin's eyes closed as he smiled. "Choji Shin. Shinigami. Here to escort you to (_hell, probably,_ but he kept that thought to himself) the afterlife."

The tick was scaled down a few notches as Genjo took in what he had been told.

"I'm dead," he said a matter of factly.

"Bit the dust," Shin nodded. He noticed the sizeable hole on the man's corpse. "Not in a good way, either."

"There's a good way?"

Shin nodded. "Had to escort this guy once. He died in the middle of two very loving twins, if you get what I mean," Shin allowed a small leer to fall on his lips. Genjo ignored his suggestive tone. Instead, the blond chose to watch the young, still living, boy intently.

"Brother?"

"Ward."

There was a little something odd in Genjo's voice. There was probably a whole history there. Time was running out, though, and so was Shin's tolerance for the spirit in front of him.

"Alright. Time to go," Shin cracked his knuckles.

"Where?" Genjo's eyes never looked up. The boy who had been carrying on had now slumped over the body in dry sobs.

"Judgment."

Shin reached over ready to teleport them when his hand was violently smacked away.

"Don't touch me," Genjo hissed. His violet eyes were narrowed. "I'm not going anywhere."

Shin felt his own temper give way. " You don't have much of a choice," he said to Genjo. His voice growled in warning. "You need to go to judgment. Who knows. You might get reincarnated." (_hopefully as a pile of dung heap_, but again Shin kept that thought to himself.)

He reached out again. He saw stars floating in front of his eyes when something hard connected with his head.

"Shit!" He looked up and snarled when he saw what was the cause of his headache. A large, white paper fan. Somehow, Genjo was able to manifest the weapon using his own spirit energy. Go figure. Another reason why they probably shoved this job on him. Everyone must have know what an ass Genjo Sanzo was and didn't want to bother.

"I'm not going anywhere," Genjo snarled. His eyes seem to soften when they landed on his ward. If Shin hadn't seen it, he wouldn't have believed a man like Genjo Sanzo could have an expression like that. One that made Genjo Sanzo look like all the other lonely, depressed spirits he had crossed over.

Looking himself, Shin saw that the boy had cried himself out and had collapsed. Even in slumber, the boy never let go of the body.

"Poor kid," the mumble came out without meaning to.

"He's a bakasaru," Genjo said. The words seemed harsh, but it lacked the heat that would have made it an insult. Instead, it sound more like an endearment or a pet name.

Shin groaned.

Great. Not only was he dealing with a loony, short-tempered Sanzo. He was dealing with a _love_-_struck_, loony, short-tempered Sanzo.

"I'm not leaving yet."

"Why not?" Shin asked. Inwardly, he was rightly pissed and thinking on what he could have done while living to deserved getting all the crap cases. The afterlife was not fair at all.

"Not until I know he's ok."

"He'll be fine," Shin rubbed his head. "Can't say the same for my head, though. Shit. You got some aim, you know that? I feel a lump. A lump!"

A loud groan of pain coming from across the room stopped any retort he would have gotten. Two guys, one with flowing crimson hair and another dark hair one wearing green, came tumbling through the rubble, supporting each other. They stopped short.

"Gojyo!"

"I see them," the pair hobbled over as fast as they could. Reaching down, the man dressed in green seemed relieved. "Goku seems fine."

"Wish I can say the same for the monk," the one named Gojyo closed his eyes as the one in green reached down to check.

"He's gone, Hakkai," no other words were exchange afterward. Instead, Hakkai gently removed the Maten scripture and placed it in his jacket before taking Genjo's arm and crossing them over the chest. At least the body looked more presentable, instead of looking like a mangled doll.

"You have good friends," Shin remarked. Genjo humph. Together, they watched as Gojyo pried the 'bakasaru' away and lifted the boy into his arms.

"Hakuryuu," a small white dragon shot off a ball of fire. Hakkai whispered a prayer as the body went up in flame.

Shin watched as the four took off in a jeep. Wait. Four? Shin watched with a sigh when he saw Genjo's spirit sitting in the front passenger seat as if it was meant for him all along.

"Goddamn bother!"

"Now, now," a silky voice whispered into his ear, "is that anyway for a Shinigami to talk?"

Shin jumped a foot in the air. Turning, he hastily kneeled on one knee much to the amusement of the Goddess of Mercy.

"I have a favor to ask," she said. A long tapered red finger nail reached out and played with his hair.

Shin gulped.

He looked up briefly at the sky. Yep. The afterlife was definitely not fair at all.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I tried to fix as many mistakes as I could. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Saiyuki or the brief mention of Naruto. **

**

* * *

**

**Parting is such sweet sorrow**

* * *

_His name being cried out. _

_His sun pushing him out of the way of the attack. _

_"Sanzo..." _

**

* * *

**

Chapter 2

* * *

"I have a favor to ask," she said, and who was he, a lowly shinigami, to refuse a god, goddess, or whatever the hell the Goddess of Mercy was.

He was no one, that's what.

That why he was sitting, grumbling to himself, on a rooftop staring into the bedroom window that belonged to Son Goku. Who, last he checked, was still comatose, going on five days now.

That room happens to be where a certain spirit of a dead priest was as well.

"Give Konzen a few more days to sort out everything," the goddess had ask. Shin had agreed reluctantly. Now, he was sitting there, bored stiff, as Genjo Sanzo sat in the chair by Son's bedside reading the paper that had been left there by Cho Hakkai. Good thing, the healer and his crimson haired friend weren't there. To them, the only thing they would have seen would be paper floating in mid air.

The dragon, on the other hand, seemed a bit more spiritually intune.

Shin noticed the dragon hovering near the spirit, red eyes looking strangely thoughtful. Other than a few cheeps, it left the spirit mostly alone, and Genjo seemed perfectly at ease to be left alone.

"Stupid love-sick bastard," Shin growled. He should have been home in the afterworld by now.

"I think it's rather cute," a voice spoke out.

"You would," Shin leaned his head back to stare at the sun as Pein dropped down beside him. Damn. It was only mid-day. He glanced at Pein from the corner of his eyes. Pein's gaze was train on Son's window with curiosity.

"He just sits there, waiting," Shin said offhandedly.

"He must have cared for him a lot."

"Stupid thing been going for over five hundred years, I've heard," Shin sat up and looked into the room as well. "Fuck. Being in love for that long? They must be crazy."

"Being in love is crazy?" Pein asked in disbelief. Shin almost missed the way Pein's shoulders suddenly stiffen and tensed. "Or the fact that they're both men and in love is crazy?"

"No," Shin tried to chose his words carefully. He heard the low warning growl underneath Pein's calm tone. A pissed off Pein was not someone he wanted to deal with. Especially since the younger man knew a hundred different ways to kick his ass from here to the Jade Palace. "No, the whole man on man don't bother me. I'm all for free love. I'm just saying that loving someone that long is crazy."

He didn't want to admit out loud that he didn't believe in it. Everlasting love, that is. He lived long enought to know that everyone, _everyone_, moved on even after they've claim to have met the love of their lives. Loving someone for that long was just a waste of time. A one true love was just about as real as Sha Gojyo is a monk sworn to celibacy.

It doesn't exist.

Shin knew this, just like he knew Son Goku will eventually move on. Probably onto someone better. Son's love for Genjo Sanzo will fade. It might take a lot longer than most people, but it will happen.

For someone like Pein, who believed whole-heartily in that one perfect soulmate... Shin didn't have it in him to crush the younger man's dreams.

"Why?"

Shin grew exasperate. "Let's not talk about this."

"No," Pein insisted. "Why is it crazy?"

Shin thought quickly. "Tying yourself down to one person…I duuno. It's seems stifling." The moment he said those words, Shin wished he could retract them.

Pein's face froze in suprised. Then it evolved into an expression that bode ill. Getting to his feet, Pein's normally calmed face had etched into itself into an expression that almost made Shin whimper in fear. Without saying a word, Pein grabbed his arm and teleport them.

They were in Son's room with a very irate Genjo glaring at them.

"I'm going to help you," Pein dumped him painfully on the ground. Moaning, Shin rubbed his rear with a grimace. "You want Son to wake up, right? I'm going to help."

"How?" Genjo looked warily. The blond placed down the paper. In his hand materialized that damn fan that Shin had gotten to know rather intimately. He opened his mouth to warn Pein, but closed it. Let Pein found out the hard way. It would be a righteous payback for the unceremonious dumping he got. Shin got to his feet.

"Two word. Dream possession."

"You got to be joking," Genjo fingered his fan.

Pein stared at the bed in pity and Shin knew his face held a similar look. The boy looked so small and delicate lying on the starch white sheet. Even in sleep, the boy's features were twisted in pain. "It's self induce. He's not waking up because he doesn't want to wake up," Pein said.

Genjo looked towards the bed as well. "Nothing I do gets through to him." The blond lifted the fan and began to thwack at the boy's head. Each blow goes through the boy like spirits go through walls. Even so, Shin flinches and stared at Sanzo with dislike. If that's how he shows his love, he thought, I'd hate to think how he shows his hate. Really. What did the kid see in the guy? Sure he's good looking, Shin eyed the blond, but he smokes, gambles, and is overly violent. As far as he knew, Son was a good kid most of the time.

Shin arched toward the bed a little more to get a glimpse of Son's face. Was it that bad boy factor those teenage girls shinigami were always whisper about?

A blow to the head sent Shin scrambling back.

"Fuck!"

"Stay away from him," Genjo said. When Shin was a respectable distance away, the fan vanished.

Pein raised an eyebrow. "What if I told you there was a way to get through to him?"

Genjo looked mildly interested.

"He trapped himself in his own mind," Pein said. "The best thing to do is to go in and pull him back out again."

"How do I get in?" Sanzo abruptly asked. Pein turned his glazed to Shin.

"Shit."

Shin continued to curse later on as Pein talked him into it.

Going diving into someone subconscious always left Shin feeling sourly. Not because it took an ungodly amount of reiki, though that was a huge part of it, it was just that Shin never felt quite right. Going into someone's mind uninvited was something he put on the level of rape. He was in a place that was private, precious, and somewhere he wasn't suppose to be in. That's why he generally avoid cases involving dream possession.

In this case, though, moral be damn. If this gets Genjo Sanzo's spirit to judgment faster and him home sooner than he was set, lock, ready to go.

It was bad enough going alone himself on the trips, but now taking Genjo and Pein along will leave him fatigued and almost exhausted reiki wise. Whatever he had left he had to save for the return trip. Pein never went diving before and since Shin had a good three hundred years seniority, it was on his shoulders to take them into the recess of Son's mind and back out again.

Shin felt his stomach crawl slightly.

He had to touch the others to take them along. Holding hands with Pein was fine. Shin was surprised at how warm the other's palm was in his own. It left him with a bit of a tingly feeling. Genjo on the other hand... the only way they'd willing touch each other was by hooking their pinky. Thank the gods that was the only physical contact they had to endured.

When they arrived Shin was quick to wipe the hand that Genjo touched and Genjo did the same, scowling. Shin stuck up his middle finger and ignored it when he was flipped back. He looked into the clearing of a huge forest. Pein looked around in awe.

"This is what a mind looks like?"

"This is what Son Goku's mind looks like. Every subconscious is different," Shin brush the dirt from his shoulder. He looked at a frowning priest. "Look familiar?"

"It's a small forest near Mt. Gojo," Genjo said. The blond looked towards the mountains. Shin nodded. He knew bits and pieces of Son's life.

"His mind is probably holding himself in that cave. Probably waiting for you."

Without another word, Sanzo stormed off in the direction of the mountain. Unabashed, Shin prodded Pein to follow. Before they could moved another step, a vine from one of the trees came whipping at them. Shoving Pein out of the way, Shin cursed as he felt the vines hit his ribs, cracking them. He willed the way the urge to use his reiki to heal himself. Return trip, he reminded himself.

"What's going on?" Pein darted out of the way of another incoming vine.

"His mind knows we're intruding," Shin gritted his teeth. "He's trying to keep us way."

Up ahead, Shin heard the sounds of gun shots.

"Let's go," Grabbing Pein, Shin made a mad dash forward. Stumbling over the rocks and the gravel, they had managed to outrun the man killing plants in time to come upon another clearing where youkai seem to come raining down in almost every direction. For every one Genjo took out, three more took it's place. It was endless. The small gun Genjo managed to materialize was no match against the hordes of demons.

"Help him. Keep them distracted," Pein shoved him forward. Seeing Pein's finger move in a familiar motion, Shin race forward. He punched, kicked, hell he even bit every youkai he could. The youkai in Goku's mind, oddly, taste like chicken.

Shin felt the flare of Pein's reiki.

The next second, everything but the three of them were frozen in ice.

"You damn Saru!" Genjo snarled into the cold air. Shin couldn't be sure, but he could have sworn he saw the trees around him tremble.

"Let's get going," the priest ordered. Biting back a retort, Shin reached out and help Pein across the ice.

"He gets lovelier by the second, doesn't he?" Shin snarled.

"He's just worried," Pein said. Together, they slipped and slide after Genjo.

Later, they were sitting in the inky dark, by a small roaring fire. They only made it halfway through the forest, and to Shin's annoyance, they don't seem to be any closer to the mountain then when they first startled. Mr. High and mighty priest, hadn't said one word of thanks to them for saving his sorry ass. When he opened his mouth, it was only to give orders.

Shin toss a thin three branch into the fire moodily. Pein took a seat next to him.

"When this is over, remind me to treat you to dinner."

"Steak?" Shin asked. Pein smiled and Shin found himself awestruck. In the darkness with nothing but a fire to see by, Pein looked oddly beautiful. The fire cast his feminine face in soft shadows. Even his lips…Shin shook his head to clear his disturbing thoughts.

"Something wrong?"

"Nothing," Shin edged away slightly. He turned to Genjo hoping for a distraction, but the priest ignored them. He was too busy looking at the dark shadow of Mt. Gojo.

"I dove into the mind of a youkai once," Shin said. He wanted to break the silence. "His mind had been fractured a lot like Son is. Instead of a forest, though. His mind conjured up a desert. Hot. Stuffy. Full of sand. Found him on top of a sand dune just looking at the horizon."

"What happened?" Pein asked, hanging onto every word. Shin grinned. He could tell Genjo was listening as well, even though the priest gave no outwardly signs.

"His siblings called for him. One girl and one boy. Honestly? I didn't expect them to reach out. From what I gathered I assume there was no love between them. If anything, the youkai terrified them when he was still conscious and living. They must have had a change of heart." Shin shrugged. "Somehow, they managed to break through. They called. He answered. The last I heard, the boy made Hokage, head leader, or something like that in his village."

"So it ended well?" Pein asked.

"Yeah."

Later, when Pein and Genjo was resting and he was on watch, Shin wondered if he did the right thing by not telling them that most diving cases never worked out. Looking at Pein's sleeping face then at Genjo's stone one, Shin stared up at the sky. Even though it was all in Son's mind, he could still see the stars and smell the pine from the trees. Son was a lover of nature. Had they met under different circumstances, they would have no doubt been friends.

Drowsily listening, Shin could hear small sobbing coming from the direction of the mountain. The last image before Shin eyes drifted close was that of Mt. Gojo.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Last chapter. It's been five years since I've written a fan fiction. It probably shows that I have the worst grammar ever. Sorry. Sorry. Can I use the excuse that English isn't my first language? It's true! I'm checking it myself, but I'm only human. One with very bad vision who probably missed a lot of mistakes. Anyway. This is my contribution to Sanzo X Goku, whom I adore but do not in any shape or form own. Nor do I own Naruto, whom I reference here either. So please don't sue. I hope someone enjoys this.**

**Disclaimer: Saiyuki? Not mine. **

**

* * *

**

**Parting is such sweet sorrow**

* * *

_Everyone always leaves him in the end. _

_The cave was a good place for him. _

_"Oi, Bakasaru."_

**

* * *

**

Chapter 3

* * *

Shin was thoroughly chewed out by Pein the next morning for falling alseep on the watch. Genjo wasn't please either and Shin had the lumps on the head to prove it. By daybreak, they set off once again towards the mountain with more killer weeds and youkai to hinder them. Between Pein's reiki attacks and Genjo's gun, they made it in good time to the base of the mountain. To Shin, it seem almost too easy. The closer they got, the harder the defenses should have been. Something wasn't right.

"We have climb that?" Shin craned his neck up and gaped at the looming mountain.

"Let's go," Genjo removed his outer robe leaving only his pants and leather top. Shin noticed the way Pein eyed Genjo, and for some unexplained reason he found himself pissed. It was a bit hypocritical, considering his own eyes rovered the priest's body as well. Struggling off his Shinigami robes, leaving on the white mesh shirt underneath and his loose white pants, Shin began to climb the rocky edge.

After two hours, Shin noticed Pein struggling below them. He wiped away the sweat from his forehead and cursed. They weren't even halfway up. Genjo was far up ahead, methodically searching for ledges and foothold. Taking a rest, Shin waited for Pein.

"You didn't have to wait," Pein panted as he drew beside Shin.

"I wanted to," Shin shrugged.

"The fog coming in," Pein said, eyeing the white mist.

"Fuck."

The fog grew quicker and thicker then expected. Soon, Shin couldn't see Pein who was right next to him. He couldn't even see his hands. Forget looking for Genjo. The only thing they could do now is wait. Either for the fog to dissipate, for them to fall, or for Genjo to make it to the top. It was too dangerous to move.

"Shin?" The voice came out quiet and unsure. Squinting, Shin tried to at least make out Pein's form. Nothing. Nothing but white all around.

"Yeah?"

"What happens if you die while diving?"

Shin thought for a moment. "For Shinigami, We're just expelled from the person's mind. The person we're diving into…they're not so fortunate."

"So we could end up killing Son Goku?"

"Yeah, most likely."

"I wish you told me this before." The accusation in the voice made Shin grin.

"You never asked."

Another moment of silence.

"Shin?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm in love with you."

Shin almost lost his grip in surprise. "What?"

"I'm in love with you," Pein's voice seemed to gain more confidence as he went on. "To be honest. I've been in love with you for the last one hundred and twenty three years. I know you don't like guys-"

Shin felt the need to interrupt. "It's not that I hate guys or anything. It's just that I've never really been attracted to them."

"What's with you staring at Genjo then?"

"You were staring too," he reminded. Shin held in a laugh when he heard Pein give a little huff. "As far as guys go, I think you're easily one of the most beautiful. It's just…"

"Stifling?" Pein suggested.

"Huh?"

"You told me being tied down to one person was stifling. Look, I'm not asking you to marry me or anything, but I was hoping for a chance," the desperation came through. "I don't mind if you see other people…just as long as you see me, too."

There was a pregnant pause.

"You know you deserve someone better than me," Shin finally said. He felt his heart quicken just a little as he waited for the reply.

"Yes. I know," a matter of fact. "but I don't want someone else. I want you."

The fog began to dissipate and Shin found himself on the forest floor again. The mountain in front of them seem to have vanished. Looking to the side, Shin stared at Pein. The dark haired, dark eyed shinigami stared unwaveringly back. Ah. Screw this. Shin grabbed Pein and pulled him into a kiss.

"I can't promise anything," he said when they broke apart for air.

"I know."

Shin felt two presence come forward. One Genjo Sanzo and behind him, walking softly with his head bowed, was the elusive Son Goku. Shin felt sorry for the boy. More so when he saw several small lumps on the boy's head. To think, the boy lived with that for six years! Shin also saw the slightly swollen lips and the sad wistful smile on Son's face when he stared up at Genjo. His heart broke just a little for heretic.

Shin was wrong.

There was a such thing as a one true love.

It was all in Son Goku's eyes.

The way Son Goku looked at Genjo Sanzo…Shin highly doubt that the boy could fall in love with another person in his lifetime. The boy's heart seemed only big enough for the man standing in front of him.

"He's good," Genjo nodded.

"You'll come back?" Pein asked Son.

The boy nodded. The way is head jerked back and forward almost made Shin winched. The boy wasn't coming back on his own will. He was coming back because Genjo was making him.

Whatever works, Shin thought.

"Let's go," Shin took Pein's hand, hook his pinky around Genjo and watched for a moment when Genjo firmly embraced Son.

In a blind light, they were gone.

Shin watched with Pein and Genjo from the rooftop across from Son's room. They wait for a moment with bated breath. When Son's hand started to move there was a loud, audible breath of relief. The boy sat up a moment later, rubbing his eyes tiredly and yawning. Getting out of bed, Son walked over to the window and pulled it up, poking his head out and starting straight ahead.

For a moment, Shin thought Son could see them, but turning around behind him, he noticed that the boy was staring at the sun rise instead.

All that shit and it happened in the human equivalent of a day. Figures. The door to Son's room opened and his two friends, the one called Hakkai and Gojyo walked in. They stopped and seemed stunned.

"Hi ero-kappa. Hakkai," Son turned and greeted them. A strange growling sound rumbled and the boy turned red. "Ne, Hakkai. I'm hungry."

Their cries of joy could be heard from here to Shangri-La.

Shin turned to Genjo.

"Are you ready for judgment?"

Genjo nodded.

"You know," Shin remarked as grabbed Pein's hand. He tried not to let Pein's smile affect him. "You're not exactly the first Sanzo I've cross-over. I met a real nice one a couple of years back. He was habitually late for everything…"

They vanished as the sun spilled onto the rooftop.


End file.
